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This blog is written by Susan Landrum who lives in New York and it is called “Finding NYC”. It is a wonderful blog to follow because she deals primarily with art exhibitions and other artistic themes. This post is a little different. It shows the photographs of Holocaust survivors outside the United Nations building. Enjoy a wonderful set of photographs and try to remember who and what they represent.

Last weekend I had the chance to go see a special installation displayed on the fence outside of the United Nations headquarters in Manhattan. The photos are one half of an exhibition memorializing the victims and survivors of the Holocaust titled Survivors, Victims and Perpetrators, and were taken by Italian photographer Luigi Toscano as part of the Lest We Forget project. (I haven’t yet had the opportunity to see the other half of the exhibit, which is located inside the Visitors’ Center.)

The photos are larger than life and intensely powerful. The survivors’ faces engage the viewers; both hope and sorrow are visible in their gazes. Each one is accompanied by a small card that gives each survivor’s name, place and date of birth, date and details of arrest and detention, and information about liberation. Some cards had additional heartbreaking details about what happened to other members of the…

This is how Prasna Velcheru spent her December 25th. This post is perhaps a bit long to read in full, but it is absolutely magical just to look at her photographs and to see the sights on offer. You will need to click on

From Jammu we reached Pathankot and from there took a bus to Dharamshala. More than 10 hours for 230 kms, the State Government should do something to improve the public transport.

Reached McLeod Gunj at around midnight – surprised to see some shops and restaurants open – checked into the hotel and called it a day.

Woke up to the view of the Dauladhar range and to the chirping of birds.

A warm tea is all I need to start my day.

I had listed out around 10-12 placesthings to do but once we were out on the streets I didn’t feel like working on my checklist. Dropped everything and went with the flow – which included again a pot of ginger tea and brunch – had a toast and pancakes for almost almost 2 hrs. Tibetan culture was getting onto me and I was enjoying it. One other reason could also…

Thirty three kilometres South West of Melbourne, in the suburb of Werribee in a hangar on the old Werribee Airfield. This airfield was an adjunct to the Point Cook base and during the War it was used to park ‘planes for assembly of aircraft brought over from England. For a bit of History look here.

In 1995 a fuselage was located in Moe, Victoria and some time later a suitable wing was located in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and retrieved by the Australian Military as a memorial to all who served in Liberators, both flight & ground crew, during WW2.

Over the years, parts have been found in Australia and from all over the world and the project has steadily progressed to the stage where the aircraft is now largely…

This post is from Paol Soren in Australia, about his visit to the RAAF museum where they are currently restoring an Australian Mosquito. I know that a lot of the aviation fans who follow my blog will enjoy this, so, thanks a lot, Paol!

My first job after year twelve was in a large Lawyer’s firm in Collins Street, Melbourne. There were two of the originating partners still alive and the one I knew was Mr Cook. Mr Cook had his right index finger missing and one day he noticed me looking at it and decided to tell me what had happened. Cookie had been a Pathfinder pilot during the War. He flew an unarmed and unarmoured plywood Mosquito over Europe. His job was to fly at great speed into the full horror of war, drop marking flares onto the target and then get the hell out of the way as the bombers flew over to destroy Hitler’s war machine. One night a German Messerschmitt got a bit cross with him and fired his machine-guns. Only one bullet hit the Mosquito passing through the cockpit and blowing the top off the plane’s joystick and Mr…

I’m delighted to tell you that the beautiful military working dogs who were scheduled to be put down this week have been given a reprieve. They will be “re homed” with people who will care for them the way they deserve after all their hard work!

Thank you, thank you to all of you who took a minute to sign the petition. It made all the difference in this case. The number of signatures topped out at 374,304 (in just 4 days) and was still going strong, before the Defence Secretary responded and ordered that the dogs be saved.

Sign the petition at the bottom of this post. It costs nothing and only requires your name and email address.

Kevin and his handler

Military working dogs are highly trained canines who go to war to help do very dangerous work. Dogs have fought alongside American forces in every conflict since the Revolutionary War (but only officially since WWII). The particular dogs in danger of having their lives taken, worked with UK forces on the battlefield.

According to an article in The Sun, two Army dogs who helped save thousands of lives while on duty in Afghanistan will be put down next week, be­cause Top Brass say they can’t be re-homed. This is despite having trained, military dog handlers who are willing and able to take them in and provide a home for them.